The Story of Ny
by HappyBun
Summary: Four years before the Great Pokemon War between the strongest trainers since the original Dex-holders and the Nameless, unappreciated and forgotten grunts of old evil organizations. Follow Ny, a twelve year old with no sense of direction and his pokemon, Togepi and Growlithe on their cross-regional journey and discovery of his inevitable role in the war.
1. Vermillion: The Arrival and Discovery

So This is my first ever fanfiction, I don't have much to offer other than my own personal imagination and opinion on how the pokemon world should be compared to that of the anime. If you have any opinions or suggestions, please leave a review. Thanks!

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Vermillion: The Arrival and Discovery

"Hey! what makes you think you can barge in like that? We're having a very serious tournament between top trainers and the Elite Four! We must draft a team of strong trainers; we have no need of disrespectful brats!" A white-haired man in shades and a formal gray suit scolds a young pokemon trainer who just walked in.

"No I'm not being disrespectful, _kind sir_, just really confident. I think its fine to be confident, if you're strong." The teenager wore baggy jeans, a black T-shirt and a blue vest, along with what seemed to be a pilot cap and goggles. He really did seem to be confident in his abilities.

Suddenly a loud yell of dismay was heard near the far wall of the large rectangular stadium; the defeat of another hopeful trainer.

The victor and Elite Four member spoke without looking, "It's alright, Clyde, let him battle, if he's that cocky, he's either really strong or stupid. And to be honest, I'd take the risk in finding out." Gray Oak was named after his grandfather however the misspelled name naturally beckoned to be made fun unnaturally fit 50-year old stood on the platform nearest the front door in a gray, metal studded blazer with no shirt, revealing his over-developed torso, and white shorts, having just easily defeated another strong trainer. He specialized in normal (gray) and steel (gray) type pokemon to spite those who made fun of him.

Once the teenager had arrived on the opposite platform near the far wall, he could see Gray's face, and quite honestly, it was gray. Clean, gray moustache, gray and thinning hair, even his eyes were graying. The Elite Four member spoke loudly, "Well, well, well, it's a fine day is it not? Say, what is your name?"

The trainer replied, "Well according to my trainer card, I'm Niles Jackson," then with a smile, "But you can call me Ny."

"Very Well Ny, let's begin! Come out! Pyroar!" A feline beast with a bright red and orange mane came roaring out of the pokeball that Gray threw. It landed on the dirt stadium floor and took a battle stance.

"I'll match yours then, go Arcanine!" A majestic orange white and black canine appeared without a sound.

Gray initiated, "It's too late to be regretting youngster, Pyroar! Double Edge, full power!" The pyroar immediately took off at an incredible speed, kicking a huge dust cloud behind it.

"Dodge! With Extremespeed!" Even before the young challenger could finish, his Arcanine vanished. The Pyroar halted and looked around unaware that the two pokemon had just traded places.

"Now, Arcanine! Extreme Charge!" Again, the canine disappeared only to appear with a yellow flash and crackle before Pyroar's collapsed body. "I'm no brat anymore, hm, _Clyde_?"

Thus was the start of Nile Jackson's, or should I say, _Ny's_ inevitable participation in The Great Pokemon War.

But first, Let me tell you how his journey first began.

First Day Back in Kanto

Ny hadn't thought as much as he should have about how and what he was going to do here. The orange summer glow was already dimming, he was hungry, half his pack of pokefood had been depleted, and still he could not find his father's old place.

_I've played around and explored Vermillion so many times, how could it have changed so much over these past two years? _Pondered Ny, still staring intently at the relatively uncomplicated map of small roads and few buildings that he had stolen from his father. _Or maybe I'm just bad at direction._ Laughing at himself, Ny stopped and remembered how he used to get lost in the wilds, or when he used to cry for his mom literally ten feet into the woods outside his grandmother's garden.

The young thirteen-year-old was dressed in a pair of jean shorts, a t-shirt displaying a neon Gengar design and a track jacket. His messy uncut hair revealed his careless nature and his eyes were full of mischief.

"Yeah, that's probably it." Ny thought to himself as he recognized a familiar landmark not yet consumed by modern renovations. It was a statue of a rhydon standing upright, as if guarding the abandoned and gloomy gym behind it. Ny used to climb up on top of those with his school friends right around sunset, leaving his Togepi on the ground and feeling like the king of the world. Then, above Togepi's squeaking he would overhear his schoolmate's parents shouting and scolding, look for his own but then remembering that his father had busy work at the nuclear power plant, and that the other half of the family was in Sinnoh.

Looking away, Ny proceeded on his rediscovered route back home. With the sandy western beach to his back, it only took ten minutes on the dirt paths before he approached a large constriction site where he swore his old apartment should have been. Since there was a rectangular stone wall surrounding it Ny ran around to get a better look at the site and hope filled his heart as he rushed for the entrance marked by a flickering streetlight. Ny wondered whether his father knew about their home being demolished and whether it was the cause of his return to Sinnoh.

But before he could think any further, a deep and loud "HEY" resounded throughout the block, echoing slightly. Ny unfroze himself to look at the big-voiced man. "You're a trainer right, kid? I see you've got two pokeballs right there, on your belt. You gonna man up and battle?"

Ny scared and unsure what to do, obediently moved his hand towards his pokeball then suddenly stopped. "Yeah, huh? Oh, but I can only use one…"

"That's fine! I'll just use one too! Here, this'll be the one; It's work time, Diggersby!" A red light flashed out of the airborne pokeball and a scruffy looking Diggersby appeared. The ground-normal type rabbit pokemon held his small arms close to his chest, preferring to showcase his comparatively giant ears. When Diggersby caught sight of Ny, it smiled openly, shifting the stick between his teeth from one side to the other.

"Now's the time when you're supposed to send our your pokemon, boy. " the worker said, scratching his well-grown beard and worrying about the mental stability of the young teenager before him.

"Y-yes, yep, my turn now…" muttered Ny inaudibly as he pulled back his arm to throw his pokeball. Ny felt a pit in his stomach as he involuntarily recalled the exact experience two years ago during practice battles which he never won. His class would have small tournaments once in a while for the purposes of distinguishing any promising to-be trainers. Unless you were very good at battling or very good at research and catching pokemon, it is very hard to make a living off of the dangerous pokemon trainer profession. Most change jobs within a year.

"Growlithe!" Ny's voice cracked in his attempt to declare the traditional pre-battle shout. Out came a startled young Growlithe, clearly not as strong as the Diggersby in front of it. Seeing his Growlithe look back at him with worried eyes, Ny suddenly realized why he had battled so much although he lost all the time. Now filled with fighting spirit, Ny shocked the middle aged worker and shouted, "Alright! Let's go, Growlithe, ember, quick!"

Stunned by the boy's new attitude and the ferocity shown by the seemingly weak Growlithe, the worker could but stutter uneducated syllables, Fortunately the experienced Diggersby threw its large ears in front of itself and blocked most of the embers,

"Follow up with bite! Clamp on hard!" Blinded by its own ears, the Diggersby had them caught in the little Growlithe's jaws.

"Now throw it to the ground!" The worker had finally recomposed and gave a clear smart command, taking advantage of the situation.

"Without letting the other trainer finish, Ny interjected, "Release it, loosen up and do a roll!" Just as Diggersby began to swing his ears, Growlithe let go and rolled on the ground away from the rabbit, avoiding the full force of its ears and minimizing damage.

"Not bad, kid! But let's see how your quick thinking fares against this! Diggersby, Quick Attack!" The bulky pokemon took a step back before accelerating at a frightening speed and tackling Growlithe.

...

"So you were one of the plant worker's kid, huh?" After the battle, the husky middle-aged worker invited Ny to sit next to him on a rock by some heavy construction equipment inside the construction site. Ny was treating his injured Growlithe after gratefully accepting the worker's offered medicine.

"Um, yeah sir, and I just came back here searching for my dad's old apartment but I never knew it would be like this." Indicating the rubble worthy building next to where they were sitting.

"If you don't mind my asking, could you mention a name?"

"Daniel"

"Oh ho! Jadesky was it? Not a bad man at all, no, worked extra hard, well many others did, but he, it seemed like he was working his soul dry, hard to imagine he was raising a kid at the same time. You didn't make too much trouble now did you?"

Ny's face flushed red.

"Well, now, no need to be ashamed, all kids are like that at some point." Chuckled George, "Well your dad was a lucky one I gotta tell you, only one to survive the accident unharmed. There was an attack, some two years ago. Darn team Rockets…" Ny could sympathize with the worker, now with head bent and eyes closed. "Luckily they didn't get to the core of the plant, otherwise this whole city… Well anyway, because of that they had to shut it down, basically stripping us workers of our jobs, these apartments you see here that were provided to us for the job, and basically left us with nothing. I was the head manager there y'know, had a bright future, a beautiful fiancée too…" The worker suddenly found himself looking at Ny as he felt the boy's arms wrap around him.

"I'm so sorry." Was all Ny could say.

"Ha ha ha! Well no use crying now," said the worker as he wiped his eyes and tried to recover. "I'm George by the way."

"My name's Ny."

"Alright, Ny. How about staying at my place? I'm sure you don't have a place to stay and there ain't no Pokecenter here in this rural place." At this, Ny's face lit up then suddenly darkened again as he looked towards the run-down apartment building. "Or perhaps you want to revisit your room? Leave anything in there you forgot?"

"No, let's head to your place. Thanks George."

"Haha! You've entertained me, that's more than enough , C'mon, I gotta tell you about everything that's change since, what, two years ago?"


	2. Vermillion: To the City

Vermillion: The Battle Comedy

The gym embodied the image of the semi-submarine city. The large building had thick blue and electric yellow tubes covering the roof. It lit up the water around it and made the whole gym look transparent. Stepping inside, George explained, "You see, the gym is one of the only buildings in the city to be unseparated from the ocean. That means the pool extends all the way down and out. But don't worry as long as you don't fall in you'll be fine."

"Well that sure helps, George." Ny's sarcastic tone came out forced underneath his nervousness. To that George only chuckled.

Ny proceeded to register for a battle at the front desk of the lounge-lobby and had to sign a waiver form indicating that the gym is not responsible for any harm that comes to the trainer. Ny only grew more nervous. The trainer card checked out perfectly and he found out that he was today's first challenger. "Most people tend to rest on Saturdays, not work." was the clerk's explanation.

As George and Ny departed, George for the viewing stands, Ny for the waiting room, George seemed unnecessarily happy which helped to ease Ny's nervousness. That was when the clerk's voice came through the PA system, "You're match will begin in an hour please make yourself comfortable." _An hour? That's absurd! George'll probably be gone by then. Is the leader that irresponsible? Anyway, what type is the gym leader? It used to be electric so why is there a pool? Most gyms uses three pokemon so how is he gonna beat it with only his one usable pokemon?_

In the end, Ny decided that all he could do is talk with his pokemon and prepare some sorry excuse for a strategy. "Growlithe, Togepi, come out!" Both pokemon appeared and looked intently at him, knowing full well the seriousness of the situation. Ny took a deep breath and said, "So, today is our first gym battle. Apparently there is going to be water so I'm sorry Growlithe but you are gonna have to deal with that. And Togepi, most likely you are gonna have to battle too, but I'll start with Growlithe. Let's do our best and no matter what happens, I love you guys alright?" Growlithe was pumped up to fight, jumping up and down, spitting wisps of fire everywhere and Togepi just waddled over to hug Ny. This brought a really big smile to Ny's face.

"It's time for your match, please step outside." The PA system seemed to boom after the long period of quiet. But it was nothing to prepare Ny for the seriously deafening crash of sound and light as Ny stepped out the door into the stadium. The bleachers were filled with loud and excited people cheering as Ny entered. On the opposite side was a blond lady in a semi-formal black skirt and flats with a tailored suit adorned with a blue and yellow tie. Her hair were put into pigtails that spiraled exaggeratedly. Higher up on a platform to the right of the stadium there stood a young blond man in similar looking full suit and blue and yellow tie. He had a short but handsome haircut.

"Now, Now I know we are all excited but our young challenger here seems to be a little confused. Let me explain to him what the situation is." Quickly, the audience simmered down to the very charming. referee and shoutcaster for the match. "Trainer what is your name?"

"Ny"

"Well now, it seems the poor boy couldn't finish his own name, it's Niles Jackson!" The crowd laughed hysterically and the blond young man's voice began to annoy him. "Now unto the situation, you see, Niles, our city has bloomed into a popular tourist destination so of course, the gym would occasionally serve as entertainment as well! On the weekends that is." _Is this why George was so happy?_ Ny thought ."Every Saturday is a comedy show to make fun of and humiliate new trainers, do not worry, we **will** take the battle seriously. This is an electric/water type gym. The battlefield shall be an octagon-shaped pool with two trapezoidal floating platforms. Each side is allowed three pokemon with only the challenger being allowed to substitute pokemon! Now let the battle and laughter commence!"

The gym leader opposite Ny was at least not partaking in the laughter and excitement raging in the crowd. _So she really is gonna take this battle seriously huh? Scary…_

"Now my dearest, Julie, you can begin?" The referee called out to the leader as if they were a couple.

"Why of course, Larry." She blew a kiss to the referee that got the crowd even more excited. "Go Chinchou!" A blue pokemon with two dangling yellow attenae appeared on the far platform waiting for Ny's first pokemon.

"OK, here goes, Growlithe go!" The pokeball flew into the air, and as the red light flashed to the ground, Togepi appeared. Before he realized his mistake, the chinchou already sent an electroball Togepi's way. "No! Wait I call for a substitution!" But the chinchou was already preparing another electroball to replace the previous one that togepi luckily dodged. Determined to protect his pokemon, Ny leaped across the band of water and threw himself in front to block the incoming projectile. He suffered a shock but recovered.

"I called for a substitution!" Ny shouted quickly at the referee. The referee slowly increased his surprised chuckle to a full blown laughter that the audience joined in. "You do understand that you can just recall your pokemon and save them from harm that way right?"

Ny's eyes opened wide in realization. His face flushed and he wanted to cry but his attention was brought back to Togepi as it grabbed hold of his sleeve and gave a look of determination. "Alright fine! I admit my mistake! I'll use togepi anyway!" But it seemed no one noticed.

"It seems the challenger truly is delusional in using that little togepi!" the referee jeered and the crowd couldn't control themselves.

Ny couldn't care less. "Let's begin again Julie!" Only she seemed to be doing this as a job instead of entertainment. She was still serious.

Julie called out to her chinchou, "Chinchou, electroball again!" The small water and electric type conjured an orb of electric energy and sent it flying in Togepi's direction.

"Psychic! Take that ball and send it back!" Togepi's eyes suddenly glowed bright purple and the ball swung around behind Togepi like togepi was a fulcrum heading straight towards the chinchou. Unexpecting the counterattack, the chinchou was stunned and could not dodge the orb of electicity, taking the damage straight on.

Suddenly the crowd grew quiet and the referee was at a loss for words.

Without a second thought, Julie broke from her stunned reaction and issued a new order to her chinchou, changing tactics. "Dive into the water and attack with spark from an angle!" The chinchou immediately submerged out of sight and planned its course of attack.

Ny wasn't unprepared, "Use foresight, detect where it's gonna be and follow up with psychic!" Togepi closed its eyes and envisioned the side which chinchou would attack. Just as the chinchou launched itself at togepi with its spark, togepi sidestepped gracefully, caught the chinchou midair with its psychic attack and threw it at the opposite platform.

The crowd exploded with cheering in awe as Larry declared the chinchou unable to battle. Even Julie smiled appreciatively. "Then next I'll send out Electross!" The large menacing electric type eel floated with his levitate ability and prepared for battle.

"Now here, we see Julie getting serious with the fully evolved electross!" Larry extended the last syllable for emphasis and the audience grew intent on the battle.

"Thanks Togepi, but let's let Growlithe take on the stronger foes, Return Togepi! Let's go Growlithe! Growlithe appeared, having more spirit then before. Its nostrils and mouth filled with fire. "Let's start this time, go! Flame wheel!" Growlithe unleashed the fire in his mouth and spun surrounding himself with it, tuning literally into a flame wheel heading in eletross's direction.

Julie countered its attack with, "Crush claw, grab hold of growlithe and stop it!" Like she said, the elctross sacrificed some injury to subdue the growlithe.

"Don't stop! Spin harder! You can do it!" Ny shouted with all his might boosting Growlithe's spirit and the little fireball spun harder. Nevertheless the stronger electross finally ceased the spinning and held tight with crush claw.

"Now! Crunch!"

With amazing reaction time, Ny yelled, "Ember, into its mouth!"

Julie realized her mistake but it was too late, the elctross's mouth and weak point was filled with fire and it fainted. As Growlithe howled in victory, the crowd filled with excitement again, now rooting for Ny instead of laughing against.

Larry said nothing

Julied started to chuckle but ended up laughing out loud. The smile on her face expressed pure joy and excitement. "Alright! This is what I call a battle! I thought you were lucky that first time but now you really proved it! You are a good trainer! This last pokemon is my strongest. He was my partner ever since I was little kid and to be honest, I don't think you can deal with him but you've already bested me as a gym leader in my books. Now let's see if you can best me as a trainer! Go! Popo!" A poliwrath appeared in flash of read and opened its eyes to glare Ny down.

Despite the ferocity Popo showed, Ny could only smile and tear up at having someone finally recognizing his pokemon. Growlithe, the homeless little mutt he found, took care for and received scolding at home and school for. But he didn't give up, he kept using Growlithe against the much stronger shool pokemon, perhaps that's why growlithe seemed to be in such high spirits.

Larry could not but butt in as the poliwrath appeared, "But Julie! Oh ho ho! Julie my dearest, you do plan on-"

"Oh shut up, I'll be more than happy to act as your girlfriend for the business but right now there's a very serious battle." This instigated the loudest cheering so far with crowd oohing at the insult and hooting at the referee.

"Mud Bomb, let's go!" The poliwrath suddenly threw a large ball of mud at Growlithe.

Ny was still quick to react, "Flamewheel and doge it! The projectile barely missed the accelerating wheel of fire.

"Dive into the water and use dynamic punch!" Poliwrath disappeared into the water.

By now Growlithe already stopped flame wheel. "Get ready for the poliwrath!"

With a surge of water the platform suddenly broke apart from under, the poliwrath punched straight through and growlithe was sent flying. Realizing where growlithe would fall, Ny dived into the water to save him. Luckily, Popo was first. It carried the drenched growlithe and trainer back to the opposite side before returning to Julie's side.

"Are you ok growlithe?" Ny asked the pokemon. The weakened canine could only muster a small tongue of flame out of its nostril before collapsing in Ny's arms. "Rest well, Growlithe, return."

"Do you still wish to continue?" Julie called over the water.

"The battle isn't over yet." Returned Ny with a challenging smile.

"I like your spirit."

"Go Togepi!" The little ball appeared on one of the floating pieces and found it hard to balance. "I'm sorry Togepi, but we need to finish this fight you ready?" The togepi squeaked affirmatively in response. "Then use foresight and predict what he will do next!"

"Dynamic punch let's go!" The poliwrath accelerated fast towards Togepi but was already caught in Psychic, taking supereffective damage.

"Hydropump let's go!" Julie knew how difficult Psychic was and that, unless used by a psychic pokemon, it could only be applied to a single object at once. This meant that if the poliwrath couldn't get close combat damage, ranged attacks would still work.

The blast of water missed Togepi but hit the water and sent it flying, hitting the wall. "Quick Togepi! Use psychic on yourself to keep yourself out of the water!" Miraculously, the apparently talented Togepi kept itself afloat and landed on a floating debris only to succumb to the pain that quickly ensued. "Togepi! I believe in you!" Ny knew it was almost up for Togepi, but a loss isn't worth it unless you try your best.

But before any trainer could issue more commands, Togepi began glowing bright white.

"It's evolving!" Larry commented the obvious.

After a few seconds of morphing, a togetic emerged, gracefully floating in the air. This brought awe to the audience in the presence of the fabled peace-bringer.

Immediately, Togetic blew a sweet kiss at Popo and it became confused. In panic it began spewing hydropumps in all directions and smacking the water with mud bombs.

"Yes! Yes! Woohoo! Togetic I knew you could do it! What else can you do now!" Togetic smiled at Ny and suddenly brightly colored leaves appeared around it only to slash at the confused poliwrath.

Although it took a while, poliwrath's formidable defenses succumbed to Togetic's advantageous flight and suppressive ranged attacks.

Now the crowd and even Larry clapped out of respect for the new up-and-coming trainer.

Julie walked around to Ny's side of the arena and commended him, "Congratulations, Niles."

"It's Ny, just Ny."

"Haha, alright, congratulations, _Ny_, on defeating the Vermillion city gym. I apologize for the unwelcoming greeting we gave you. You truly were outstanding. I couldn't even make you use your third pokemon, even with my trusted partner." Popo, now recovered and standing beside her gave an embarassed look at Ny and scratched its head.

Oh, I didn't have a third one." Ny added sheepishly.

"Oh, really!?" Julie was even more surprised as was the crowd. "Then you are more than deserving of this badge, it was once the thunder badge but now it's the glow badge. Take it." Julie handed over a badge resembling a blue orb with a smaller illuminating yellow center orb.

Taking it the crowd once again cheered for Ny's victory.


	3. Vermillion: The Battle Comedy

Vermillion: To the City

The morning sunlight shone through the window, its brightness dampened only by the morning fog. Ny got out of the couch he was using as a bed and found himself in oversized pyjamas. Geroge, the large construction worker had lent them to him after discovering Ny had none. Ny could still remember George's laughing, "You know those are one of a trainer's essentials right? Ha, ha, ha! It comes first even before potions!" Yep, Ny was definitely a newbie trainer.

With one hand on his waist securing the size 45, blue and purple polka-dotted pants, Ny moved towards the small basic kitchen and the smell of food. George had already left for work, leaving the twelve-year old a plate of eggs, spam, and a bun. But as all good trainers do, Ny woke his togepi and growlithe up, carrying their drowsy bodes to the bowl on the floor and filling it with pokefood.

"C'mon growlithe, don't fall back to sleep," Ny beckoned, nudging the striped black, white and orange canine, "look, togepi is gonna finish it all." That appeared to catch growlthe's attention and it finally sat up to eat its meal.

Deviating away from his pokemon, Ny's attention was caught by a white envelope beside his food. Making sure to stuff his mouth with some egg first, Ny brushed his black hair away from his eyes and read its contents.

_So Ny, you want to be a pokemon trainer huh? Well the first step is to get a pokemon trainer card but those require recommendation and money so instead I can hook you up with a friend of mine who can not only forge an I.D. but can also hack into the PC system to get you registered. She's located at the Star Star Rock Center's underground; make sure you DO NOT tell anyone else. She'll take this paper for admission and to hide her existence. After you get your I.D. I'd advise you challenge the gym, it's by the west coast a little bit away from the first gym. Don't worry, you'll do fine. Good luck!_

After Breakfast, it was finally time to explore the city and see the changes George described for him. Having packed all his belongings, now including his oversized pyjamas, Ny headed out with his pokemon by his side. Stepping outside the wall of the apartment building, he looked back and saw a statue he hadn't noticed in the dark of the night before; a determined machop, staring ahead, and carrying what seemed to be a large and heavy brick. According to Geroge, the Mighty Machop Co. existed for a long time but only recently grew large, which is why Ny didn't recognize the name.

Ny made a left onto the dirt path towards the city, heading south. Togepi had already needed carrying and growlithe, unlike his morning self, was running around sniffing everything. Ever since the nuclear power plant shut down and the electric powerplant restarted, many workers found themselves out of work. Consequently, Might Machop hired them all to expand the city through the northwestern forest and even obtained a government grant for their service to the people. It was the perfect place for the jobless workers to overcome the loss of their dear friends to the accident. In any case, life was good; the workers were happy and the company was not over-manipulating.

That was when a problem arose. Although the workers did their jobs well, the forest and natural habitat of Pokemon was diminishing, causing activists to speak out and eventually, construction ceased. Presently, the workers could only do renovations which are quickly being needed less and less.

Putting the first foot down on the modern concrete city road, Ny could already smell the sea breeze and to his surprise, he could see the distant water network that composed most of the city. The alternate solution to the work shortage problem was to expand construction to the sea. Yet this solution required a tighter budget and didn't allow as many workers to be hired – they had to be retrained. Nevertheless, the popular semi-submarine city and tourist destination became the product.

And now, before Ny's eyes there was a beautiful glass dome that arcs just over the tip of the central building. The skyscraper was at least 30 stories high and probably even deeper. It was surrounded by lots of smaller building and then a large ring of "housing". The ring right in between the center and the housing ring had no visible building and served as transportation rivers. Basically, it looked like a three-ringed target with an oversized bull's eye.

"WOW!" Ny gasped and to his pokemon, "let's go see inside!" The two Pokemon quickly gained pace and caught up with their trainer.

Inside, the view was even more spectacular. The floor was completely composed of glass and transparent. There were people bustling about through the commercial part of the dome, people getting ferried by laprases and floatzels, and kids playing in the waters with their pokemon friends. Even better, there was an beautiful web of glass tubes of yellow energy throughout the buildings, dome and under the river, clearly the power source of the city.

Walking along the river, growlithe and togepi curiously looked over the ledge into the water. "Hey, hey," Ny called out in a sing-song voice, "you're gonna get wet if you fall in you know?" Growlithe and Togepi were punished for not heeding Ny's warnings a moment later as a buizel splashed them with water. While togepi squeaked in delight, growlithe was quick to learn his lesson and climbed up against Ny to dry his face. "Aww, Come on! Now you're gonna get me wet!" But by using his puppy-dog pouting and a cute growl Growlithe got away with just a brief scolding. "Alright, I think our fun time is over for now, let's get down to business. Growlithe, Togepi! Return!" A red beam flashed out of his two pokeballs and connected with the pokemon. A moment later, they disappeared and the pokeball shrank back down to ping-pong size. "Ok now, where do I have to go?"

After an hour and half of exploring and trying to look over the crowds, Ny ended up walking a full lap of the circular city and ended up before a rock club he had passed on his way in. The sign read STAR STAR – COME FIND YOUR STAR IDENTITY! It was so blatantly obvious but clever enough to be misunderstood. Taking a deep breath, he stepped in.

There was no one at the front desk of the small unlit lobby, so Ny entered the door that seemed most obvious, the one with a star. Upon opening it, Ny was met with a crashing tide of metal music and electric tunes already overwhelming at a distance. Looking past the impeding wall further down the spiral staircase, Ny was shocked to see a huge stage and a giant room filled with upwards two thousand people. The floor was impossible to see but the walls were glass, and only at a second glance did Ny notice most of it was covered by earth. To think that such a place could exist in the underwater city, a place that is rooted in the earth. The darkness it provided augmented the bright lights in the room.

Ny did not need to be careful in descending the stairs, no one would notice him or care for that matter, the stage and the huge side bars were their only concern. Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs and getting hit my another wave, this time of the smell of sweat and alcohol, a hand seized a death grip on Ny and he was dragged to a small smoky back room. It was darker than outside, being only illuminated by a computer monitor, and was surprisingly quiet.

"What do you think you're doing coming so late?" The slurred yet clearly enraged voice of a lady demanded Ny. "I was almost tempted to have a drink! Explain yourself!"

Ny's eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness and he could perceive the silhouette of a long-haired lady. "S-sorry, I kinda got lost in the city, it was hard to…"

"Yeah, yeah." The lady, now visible to be wearing a white lab coat over very revealing leather clothing, interrupted, was not in the mood to take excuses. She had purple straight hair and wore a generic mask of heavy makeup.

A torkoal was sleeping by her desk, spewing smoke from its shell and a wheezing was unnaturally breathing comfortably behind her seat. Ny's field of vision was covered by another surprise as a ghastly appeared before him and licked his face before disappearing again.

"Umm, why was that ghastly white instead of purple?" asked Ny curiously.

"This torkoal here, gives off a healthy smoke, the wheezing absobs the bad chemicals in the air, so ghastly became healthy. Give me your hand." The lady took a blood sample and placed it into a machine for analysis. She took an all-encompassing look of Ny and then proceeded to type in all sorts of information into the computer. "Name? Last Name?"

"Ny, Jadesky."

"Niles Jackson." The lady hit enter and a beep could be heard as a trainer card began to be printed out.

"No, miss, I said Ny, Jadesky! Not Niles Jackson! You gotta change it!" Ny frantically tried to convince the nonchalant lady.

Shoving the card in his hand, the lady forcefully escorted him out of the room. "The police can't trace you if its not your name dim-wit, be lucky that it sounds similar so you can at least use "Ny" as a nickname. Now get out! Oh wait," She grabbed hold of the collar of his shirt, "Give me that slip of paper George gave you. Ok now you get out!"

Ny was shoved out into a barrage of lights, sounds and smells. The young trainer slowly climbed up the staircase while staring at his new trainer card. Usually this would be a celebratory moment for young trainers starting their journey, with that special feeling you get knowing that you are finally officially a pokemon trainer. When normally, trainers look at their card, their face, their name and say, _that's me_, Ny was devastated and conflicted. This wasn't him, he wasn't Niles Jackson, the picture didn't look like him and he wasn't even born in Vermillion City. How can he be a trainer now? All the gym badges he might possibly earn won't matter. His whole life would be a fraud!

Ny exited the front lobby and kept walking along the road until he found a bench to sit on. Just as he was about to cry, suddenly a meaty hand clasped on his shoulder and Ny looked up, confused. "Ha ha ha! Now don't look at me like that!" It was George, the construction worker, which made Ny even more confused. "I'm just off on my lunch break and I figured I would come congratulate you on your first gym victory! Surprise hmm? Look, if she had used your real name and identity, there would've been a conflict in the system, besides with a new identity you're free to do whatever, Cheer up! Now let's go see about that first gym battle!"

Ny, thinking it through, realized that it was probably for the better and there was no point crying now, not right before a gym battle.


End file.
